Ahmedabad: Shubman Gill extended his sensational run with a third century of the season as Gujarat Titans crushed Mumbai Indians by 62 runs to storm into their second consecutive IPL final here on Friday, May 26, a PTI report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
Gill’s whirlwind knock made him only the second Indian batter after Virat Kohli (2016), and overall fourth in the history after Jos Buttler (2022) and David Warner (2016), to score more than 800 runs in an IPL season
Playing ball-to-ball, assessing the situation is important. The over I hit three sixes is where I felt it was my day. It was a good wicket to bat on and I wanted to maximise scoring. Shubman Gill, player of the match
Shubman’s clarity and amazing innings is what’s keeping him on top. He wasn’t rushed or not in control at any point. He’s a superstar who will do big things for the franchise and the country. Hardik Pandya, GT skipper
On Friday, May 26, Gill tore the Mumbai Indians bowling attack to shreds, hitting 129 off 60 balls as Titans comfortably won the second Qualifier by 62 runs
Gill’s 60-ball 129 fired Gujarat to a huge 233/3 and in reply, Mumbai, struck by a string of injuries, went down fighting in the Qualifier 2 with Suryakumar Yadav (61) and Tilak Varma (43) providing some resistance.
Mohit Sharma, introduced in the 15th over, finished with figures of 2.2-0-10-5, triggering a collapse as Mumbai went from 149/4 in 14 overs to 171 all out in 18.2 overs.
The 23-year-old Gill scored his third century in the last four innings, recorded the highest score of the season for any batter and took his tally to 851 runs in yet another sensational knock.
Gill’s whirlwind knock made him only the second Indian batter after Virat Kohli (2016), and overall fourth in the history after Jos Buttler (2022) and David Warner (2016), to score more than 800 runs in an IPL season.
Chasing 234, Mumbai were forced to rejig their batting line-up with Ishan Kishan being substituted after he ran into Chris Jordan during change of overs in the first innings and hurt his eye.
Brief scores: Gujarat Titans: 233/3 in 20 overs (Gill 129; Chawla 1/45); Mumbai Indians: 171 all out in 18.2 overs (Suryakumar 61; Mohit 5/10).
In the midst of a golden run, Shubman Gill feels working on specific technical areas and a minor tweak before a T20 series in New Zealand post the T20 World Cup in Australia, has worked wonders for his game.
Gill wasn’t picked for the global event in 2022 as the Rahul Dravid-coached team went with Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli as its Nos 1, 2 and 3 in the batting line-up.
Gill, who has been panned for his strike-rate during earlier editions of IPL, has confirmed an ‘Orange Cap’ with 851 runs and three hundreds in the 16th edition, which has taken Gujarat Titans to its second successive IPL final.
“From the last West Indies tour (2022), I think I have shifted a gear, I got injured before the last IPL but I have been working on my game. I have worked on a few areas and made technical changes ahead of the NZ series after the T20 World Cup,” he said at the post-match presentation.
Three hundreds in a single IPL edition is only second to Virat Kohli’s four in the year 2016 when RCB last played the finals. The former skipper had scored 973 runs, which is still a record.
“I think this was probably my best innings so far in the IPL,” the 23-year-old Punjab man said.
Gill said starting well is the key for him to score big. “For me, it is playing ball to ball, over to over. The over where I hit three sixes gave me the momentum to go big. That’s when I realised it could be my day.
“It was a good wicket to bat on as well. Not a conscious decision, you keep inventing as a batter but for me the belief is more important. I am coming off a good international season as well. Had a good season last time as well. When I start well, I feel confident I can score well.”
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